It was nineteen-sixty-two
And I was two years out of school
When I got on board a boat
That was bound for Liverpool
The day we sailed away
I remember it so well
Took a look at the North Wall
And bid a fond farewell
It’s a hard thing to leave the land of your childhood
Touched by the rivers and kissed by the sea
The places you played with your childhood companions
To leave dear old Ireland and Mother mo chroí
Though I am going far away and I may never return here
There is one thing I’ll always keep within me
Deep in my heart a furious devotion
The love of old Ireland and Mother mo chroí
Though I am going far away and I may never return here
There is one thing I’ll always keep within me
Deep in my heart a furious devotion
The love of old Ireland and Mother mo chroí
On the top of the Pentonville Road, I saw the sun setting
The town laid out before me looked beautiful to me
Away from all the sighing, the suffering and the dying
I dreamed of the future, the young and the free
But the years they go by quickly, now I know I can’t remain here
Where each day brings me closer to that final misery
My kids will never scrape shit round here and I won’t die crying in a pint of beer
I’m going back to Ireland and my Mother mo chroí